Wednesday, April 25, 2007

Quantum Mechanics, Green Tea & Health

Nanowerk News recently reported on an interesting connection between quantum mechanics, green tea and health. Scientists at the Autonomous University of Barcelona in Spain have modeled the chemical reaction that allows green tea catechins to zap antioxidants.

Their findings are available in a report called Tunneling in Green Tea: Understanding the Antioxidant Activity of Catechol-Containing Compounds. A Variational Transition-State Theory Study. It's available from the American Chemical Society, for a price, though I'm guessing it's not exactly what you'd call beach reading.

If you'd like a condensed and more user-friendly version of the above, check out the Nanowerk News article, here.